A Muslim woman is suing Chicago after officers arrested her thinking she was a potential 'lone wolf' terrorist

A Muslim woman filed a federal lawsuit against the city of
Chicago and six of its officers on Thursday because of an
incident last year in which she said her civil rights were
violated.

The complaint says the woman, Itemid Al-Matar, was walking up
the stairs from a train station on July 4, 2015, when she was
"grabbed" by several officers, who "threw her down upon the
stair landing" and then began "pulling at her and ripping off her
hijab."

Al-Matar further claimed she was targeted specifically because of
her religious garb, accusing the officers of "intentional,
willful, and wanton" actions that were a violation of her
constitutional rights and religious freedom.

A police report filed on the night of the incident indicated that
officers thought Al-Matar might have "incendiary devices"
attached to her ankles.

Officers "believed that subject might be a
lone wolf suicide bomber and decided to attempt to take
subject into custody," the report said, according to the
Associated Press.

Footage of the incident was captured on a nearby security
camera. It appears to show five officers approaching Al-Matar
from behind on the stairs before one of the officers grabs her by
the shoulder and brings her to the ground.

The security camera footage can be viewed below:

Al-Matar was charged with reckless conduct and several
counts of obstructing justice, but the charges were dismissed in
June.

Al-Matar claims that she suffered "violations of her
constitutional rights, emotional anxiety, fear, humiliation,
monetary loss, embarrassment, fear, pain and suffering, and
future pain and suffering" on account of the arrest, according to
the complaint.

The officers said they followed Al-Matar because she carried a
backpack and displayed "suspicious
behavior" by "walking at a brisk pace, in a determined
manner," according to the police report cited by the Associated
Press. The officers cited orders to be on "high alert" for
terrorist activity because of the Fourth of July holiday.

The officers named as defendants in the suit have more than 35
complaints lodged against them, one of which accused an officer
of use of force and was sustained, according to the complaint.

"It's unfortunate that in Chicago this incident reflects
ingrained prejudice that some people still have," Gregory Kulis,
one of Al-Matar's attorneys, told the Chicago Tribune.

The Chicago Police Department was the subject of intense
scrutiny earlier this year when the city
released a series of videos documenting police officers using
force against or shooting at civilians. Going as far back as
2011, the videos showed instances of officers using excessive,
sometimes even deadly, force against civilians. The videos'
release marked a significant attempt by Chicago to be more
transparent about its police department.

Al-Matar also criticized the so-called code of silence within the
ranks of the Chicago police that she said condoned a failure to
"investigate and or discipline officers" accused of abusing their
authority.